Like Fleas on a Tiger? A Brief History of the Open Housing Movement

Publication Date: August 15, 1998

Author(s):

Alexander von Hoffman

W98-3: Since the open housing movement arose in the 1940s, its champions have convinced the Supreme Court to strike down racial covenants, forced federal housing agencies to abandon discrimination policies, and helping win passage of anti-discrimination legislation such as the landmark Fair Housing Act. Furthermore, residential integration has increased significantly over the last 25 years. Yet the advocates of open housing have continually felt thwarted because they believe that discriminatory practices are the sole reason that segregated settlement persist. The history of the open housing movement, however, shows that the preferences of both whites and African-Americans for certain kinds of neighborhoods in which to live also play a crucial role in determining racial settlement patterns...

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